Page 6 of Offsides

I kissed her.

I kissed my best friend.

And apparently ruined everything.

* * *

They at least wait until the next morning before they start the interrogation. Autumn comes in and sits down across from me, her hands folded primly on the table like she's sweet and innocent. Her pointed chin and cute nose and her whole airy fairy vibe with her turquoise and pink streaked hair and off the shoulder boho sweater makes her easy to underestimate. But I know she's anything but harmless.

"Sooooooo,” she says, drawing out the word. "What happened with you and Dani last night?" She shifts in her chair, bringing one hand under her chin. "I expected her to hang out for a while, but she took off like the demons of hell were after her.”

I roll my eyes, hoping I can ignore her. But she just sits there, staring at me, like if she stares at me long enough she can read the answer on my face. I scarf the last of my food, stand, and take my plate to the sink. "Nothing happened," I tell her, even though I know that we both know I'm lying.

I can practically hear Autumn roll her eyes at me in disdain. “So that’s what you’re going with, huh? Nothing happened?Clearlysomething happened.”

Turning, I brace my hands on the counter behind me, staring at Autumn, who’s turned in her chair, returning my stare like she doesn’t have a care in the world. And knowing Autumn, she probably doesn’t.

Sure, she’s smart and does well in school, or at least Jackson says she does, and he’d definitely know. She helps out with game nights and keeps things running smoothly, which I definitely appreciate.

That doesn’t mean I want her meddling in my personal life.

But then it hits me. The reason she’s acting like this. This isn’t just her normal meddling. “You know. Dani told you, didn’t she?”

“Told me what?” Her faux innocent look doesn’t fool me.

“Uh huh.” I move to the table and sink into my seat, leaning back, propping one ankle over the opposite knee and crossing my arms. “We’re not going to both play dumb. If you already know what happened, just tell me. If not, I’m not filling in the blanks for you.”

“Fine,” she huffs, dropping her hands into her lap. “I texted Dani last night to see if she was okay and find out why she was running away from you. She told me you guys kissed.”

“That's what she said, huh? That we kissed?”

Autumn stares at me for a moment, as though contemplating how much to reveal. “Well …” she hedges. “She said that you kissed her.”

I stare at Autumn a moment again. “Did she say anything else?”

She props her chin on her hand again, surveying me like I’m a biology specimen pinned to a board. “Is there a reason you're asking me this instead of her?”

I let out a harsh breath. “I texted her last night after she left, but she didn’t respond. I don’t think she wants to talk to me right now.” And until Autumn sat down across from me, I’d been hoping I could just pretend it never happened.

That’s my new plan.

After asking Dani if she would talk to me and getting crickets, I’ve decided to go back to ignoring my insane desire to kiss my best friend. To pretend I don’t know the way her lips feel under mine—soft and plush and velvety. To pretend I don’t know how she sucks in a shocked breath when I take her by surprise. To pretend that I haven’t heard that sound in a thousand other contexts, but now I only ever want to hear it when I kiss her for the rest of my life.

Autumn lets out a thoughtful hum. I raise an eyebrow, but she only shakes her head, her lips pursed, her hands once again layered on top of the table in front of her. “I’d like to give you advice, but I’m not really sure what the best approach here is, to be honest. Dani didn’t give me any more than you are right now, so I don’t know what she wants.” Her chin goes back to her hand, and a small smile tugs at her lips. “Though I’m guessing that since you kissed her, you’re hoping for something more than the current arrangement?” Her eyebrows rise up her forehead to illustrate her question, but I remain stoic.

She sighs, shaking her head again without lifting it from her hand. “You’re impossible. But regardless, I’m going to tell you what I think.” Now she does remove her hand from beneath her head, using it to point at me instead. “I think you’ve been pining for Dani for a while now.” She cocks her head to one side. “Has it been the whole time you’ve known her?” Her eyes flit around, taking in my face and my body while I keep my expression neutral. “Yeah. Pretty much. Jackson wasn’t sure, but yeah.” She moves her finger up and down, indicating my whole body, though I’m not sure where she thinks she’s getting her answer from, because I haven’t even twitched. I’ll never admit it to her, but she’s not wrong.

Jackson has said she’s basically psychic before. I scoffed, because that’s patently ridiculous.

But maybe it’s not?

Because everything she’s saying now is spot on.

“So you’ve been smitten for how long? When did you meet?” This time she just stares at me, eyes bright, clearly waiting for an answer.

And stupidly, I want to tell her. I shouldn’t. It goes against all of my better judgment, but despite that, I find my gravelly voice admitting, “Freshman year. We met first semester in the weight room, but really got to know each other in our biology class second semester.”

“Ah.” She nods sagely, like it’s all coming together for her. And hell, it might as well be.

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